美国政府决定从8月4日开始，停止施行已经两年，禁止乘客带普通打火机上飞机的政策。美国运输部认为，在乘客登机前搜索他们身上是否携带打火机，根本是浪费时间。 2001年当鞋子炸弹客芮德意图在从巴黎飞往迈阿密的班机上，用火柴引燃藏在鞋子里的炸弹後，美国政府在国会的坚持之下，终於宣布了禁带打火机上机的命令。2 b' d, `4 t. V& C' P8 T s
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Cigarette lighter ban 'a waste of time': US 0 ^; b" {% a6 lUS authorities will no longer enforce a two-year-old ban against taking cigarette lighters on planes because searching passengers wasted time and did not improve aviation security, the New York Times reports.& Y4 q3 N x2 n6 n( W6 ~( c
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The ban on lighters was ordered by US lawmakers after a passenger, Richard Reid, tried to ignite a bomb in his shoe in 2001 on a flight from Paris to Miami. 6 x: @" I$ {$ u8 j; u3 O8 Z. ]4 c 7 d E; l* f$ {" y, kReid, known as the "shoe bomber", had used matches to try to ignite explosives concealed in his shoe and is currently serving a life sentence for trying to blow up the transatlantic flight.2 g' h1 R( g2 d, Z9 F$ n
! d& u8 {( I& F# d: K3 L% g+ ]8 N/ B3 OUS authorities have never tried to ban matches from flights. : q- F. q: z& ?6 i # T/ J6 ]" V2 |US Transport Security Administration assistant secretary Kip Hawley says the ban on lighters did not significantly enhance security because small batteries could be used to detonate a bomb." H+ z2 `% n' g. X
Mr Hawley says lifting the prohibition will free up security officers to spend more time looking for bombs or bomb parts." c' C" h7 \& D! {: V$ n; ]& U
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"The number one threat for us is someone trying to bring bomb components through the security check point," he said. % u' c: {2 X; @& f7 z- x" Y4 X8 }" j( }8 h0 s
"We don't want anything that distracts concentration from searching for that."+ C0 \) _# P' W- @0 R9 H% k/ A0 |7 k
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The policy change is to take effect on August 4 and applies to disposable butane lighters and refillable lighters.7 J6 E( N# d/ `6 M* T- i( t% f7 c
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The New York Times says some 22,000 lighters a day are collected by security officers at airports across the United States and disposing of the confiscated lighters has cost about $US4 million a year.
